The Toys That Made Us

[orangepeachmango]

Im watching it as i type. I really like the information presented in the toys that made us, but donald ian black's voice kind of drives me nuts...and i don't like the manufactured "Drama" of the show.
and g2 hate always makes me sad : ( i get they're way different than g1 and were not a monetary success, but i rather like them, especially after i got some in my collection i liked them so much more.

any awkward "serious" conversation about bronies makes me uncomfortable lol.

Congrats both of you for the pics at the end! It was fun seeing your collections like that.

Awww thank you!

i saw that too! congrats!! <3

[Valerie]

i saw that too! congrats!! <3

Thank You!!!!

[Marlin]

I found it entertaining. Didn't realise there were such discrepancies re the 'ownership' of the original design of the ponies (I did think that back and forth editing was funny - though goodness knows how much of the expressions/reactions were staged/edited for entertainment value).

I was also a little surprised at the multiple dissing of Rescue at Midnight Castle.... us 80's kids were boom baby with the dark fantasy! Well... I was, and I loved RAMC. Though, after being enlightened as to the creators etc (and the switching between transformers and more masculine cartoons) I can kind of understand it I guess - but I don't see it as reason to criticise - it didn't exactly dent their sales or popularity of mlp now, did it?! And (just personally) I'd watch RAMC and Escape from Catrina any day over FIM.

[Zapper]

I was also a little surprised at the multiple dissing of Rescue at Midnight Castle.... us 80's kids were boom baby with the dark fantasy! Well... I was, and I loved RAMC. Though, after being enlightened as to the creators etc (and the switching between transformers and more masculine cartoons) I can kind of understand it I guess - but I don't see it as reason to criticise - it didn't exactly dent their sales or popularity of mlp now, did it?! And (just personally) I'd watch RAMC and Escape from Catrina any day over FIM.

I am still weirded out by the RaMC remarks... like, so much stuff was like that in the 80s. I always assumed that's just what kids were into back then.
 
Last Unicorn is a girlhood CULT movie and it's much darker than RaMC. Little Mermaid was scary and violent (especially that final Boss Fight with Ursula), there was the Rainbow Brite pilot which was similar to RaMC, we had two Care Bears movies where they fought actual demons (a possessed book and a shapeshifter in all-red who makes deals with humans... sounds familiar). She-Ra fought monsters on the reg, the Fright Zone was literally the FRIGHT zone.

As a kid I was obsessed with Land Before Time and afaik, that movie was not made for boys only. It had female characters that were sold as plushies to little girls. It was gruesome as heck and somehow I not only survived watching it, I became a big fan and we played Sharptooth attack in Kindergarten

Knowing how they think about RaMC makes me lose hope MLP will ever be as cool again. Instead we'll probably get more FiM style "now the ponies are in a WWII setting" crap that is way less suited for kids today than any dark fantasy setting could ever be.
If anyone wonders, I am talking about the FiM two-parter where Starlight altered the future(s) and one was a future where Celestia went to war and all ponies had to join the forces. Simply horrific compared to a couple of monsters in RaMC.

[brightberry]

I found it entertaining. Didn't realise there were such discrepancies re the 'ownership' of the original design of the ponies (I did think that back and forth editing was funny - though goodness knows how much of the expressions/reactions were staged/edited for entertainment value).

I was also a little surprised at the multiple dissing of Rescue at Midnight Castle.... us 80's kids were boom baby with the dark fantasy! Well... I was, and I loved RAMC. Though, after being enlightened as to the creators etc (and the switching between transformers and more masculine cartoons) I can kind of understand it I guess - but I don't see it as reason to criticise - it didn't exactly dent their sales or popularity of mlp now, did it?! And (just personally) I'd watch RAMC and Escape from Catrina any day over FIM.

My impression of that was it wasn't what the creators expected the marketing team to do.  It's interesting because no one interviewed said it was a failure.   MLP kept going strong and they really didn't change much afterwards even if they didn't like it.  Catrina was also scary.  So was My Little Pony and Friends... even the movie had dark moments and yet they sold even more toys.  I think they were simply thrown that this toy line was succeeding despite breaking all the rules they had in their heads and they had no idea why. 

[Beldarna]

I've been trying to sort out my feelings after watching it and I am honestly dissapointed. The overall feeling is that I would have wanted a little more indept, but I don't know of what. But the bickering about who the original creator was and the tail-washer-thing got tiresome real fast. They could have saved some minutes there and focused on other stuff.. Like, all the other mlp-themed stuff they did, cups, cloths, clocks, the works. Many other episodes showed suff like that, just show there were more than just the dolls made. And the talk about Rescue at Midnight Castle made me shake my head. That was the first mlp-show I watched and I loved it! It's still my favorite!

[orangepeachmango]

I've been trying to sort out my feelings after watching it and I am honestly dissapointed. The overall feeling is that I would have wanted a little more indept, but I don't know of what. But the bickering about who the original creator was and the tail-washer-thing got tiresome real fast. They could have saved some minutes there and focused on other stuff.. Like, all the other mlp-themed stuff they did, cups, cloths, clocks, the works. Many other episodes showed suff like that, just show there were more than just the dolls made. And the talk about Rescue at Midnight Castle made me shake my head. That was the first mlp-show I watched and I loved it! It's still my favorite!

the tail washer thing irked me too, especially because they didn't even mention how much of a pain the washer is for restorers/collectors down the road! sure it kept them (somewhat) balanced, but now we're paying the price with rusty tails :+( i thought they were going to mention that, or even anything about the problems that restorers have, like plasticizer, fading, yellowing, pony cancer, etc...

[Leave a Whisper]

Time ago I sent them pictures of my collection, and then I forgot it.

Today I received a text saying that one of my pics appears in the final credits 

I haven´t Netflix so I couldn´t see the episode (hope to find it in another website soon), but I´m happy to see my picture. The person that sent me the screenshots said its is the only collection from Argentina they showed 

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Gorgeous collection photo and congratulations!

Post Merge: November 21, 2019, 10:42:35 AM

It was a good watch! I was not disappointed (only wish it could've been longer). Didn't know the origin of MPP/MLP was quite that convoluted, so that was interesting to hear. Glad G2 at least got a a mention, which was more than I had expected really.

Some interesting stuff I noticed in the background:

Spoiler

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What is the white and pink pony with the clear wings?

[Squirtsquirt]

I wanted to know more about the creation of ponies overseas.  Since the internet opened up more collecting opportunities, I really wanted to hear more about how ponies crossed the seas and made it to other countries.  And how/why other lines were made that were never in the US.  I did enjoy the overall history part, but it did drag a bit with all the he said/she said with who created, etc.  I think it's safe to say that any great product is the brain child of many people, as they all contributed a different part to the overall idea.

It would be great if they did a part two!  Maybe they will, if fans respond positively and contribute more questions for pulling information together to get a "and this is the rest of the story" type deal going.

[nessa16]

I was also a little surprised at the multiple dissing of Rescue at Midnight Castle.... us 80's kids were boom baby with the dark fantasy! Well... I was, and I loved RAMC. Though, after being enlightened as to the creators etc (and the switching between transformers and more masculine cartoons) I can kind of understand it I guess - but I don't see it as reason to criticise - it didn't exactly dent their sales or popularity of mlp now, did it?! And (just personally) I'd watch RAMC and Escape from Catrina any day over FIM.

I am still weirded out by the RaMC remarks... like, so much stuff was like that in the 80s. I always assumed that's just what kids were into back then.
 
Last Unicorn is a girlhood CULT movie and it's much darker than RaMC. Little Mermaid was scary and violent (especially that final Boss Fight with Ursula), there was the Rainbow Brite pilot which was similar to RaMC, we had two Care Bears movies where they fought actual demons (a possessed book and a shapeshifter in all-red who makes deals with humans... sounds familiar). She-Ra fought monsters on the reg, the Fright Zone was literally the FRIGHT zone.

As a kid I was obsessed with Land Before Time and afaik, that movie was not made for boys only. It had female characters that were sold as plushies to little girls. It was gruesome as heck and somehow I not only survived watching it, I became a big fan and we played Sharptooth attack in Kindergarten

I was under the assumption this was just the trend in the 80s and 90s too!  Hello...Little Nemo, Princess and the Goblin, We're Back, Happily Ever After, All Dogs Go to Heaven, The Magic Voyage, Anastasia...etc, etc  I can name so many more.  Kids shows were constantly about fighting evil. 

I've been trying to sort out my feelings after watching it and I am honestly dissapointed. The overall feeling is that I would have wanted a little more indept, but I don't know of what. But the bickering about who the original creator was and the tail-washer-thing got tiresome real fast. They could have saved some minutes there and focused on other stuff.. Like, all the other mlp-themed stuff they did, cups, cloths, clocks, the works. Many other episodes showed suff like that, just show there were more than just the dolls made. And the talk about Rescue at Midnight Castle made me shake my head. That was the first mlp-show I watched and I loved it! It's still my favorite!

Yes, yes! Merch or maybe the GIANT Blackpool(?unsure on the name) UK holiday light ups they had!  The bickering felt like elementary schoolroom stuff. 

I too was disappointed by the very hyped-up MLP episode. I have not watched the rest of the season because of it. It seemed like they did not want to have backlash for covering "too much" (if that is even how I mean it) and so, just glossed over everything. I agree too much time was spent on the creator feud. They did not go into as much detail as the actual TOYS other than what they were initially supposed to be based on Bonnie's design. Almost nothing on lines that came after, what ponies are the most collectable now-showed Rapunzel but no comment at all, or even babies and how Ember was the first, etc, etc, etc. Maybe it's because MLP is so big but they could've been more in depth. It was rather boring. No mention of Nirvana's or ponies around the world, Takara's, etc. Haven't they interviewed someone from Takara for previous episodes? Hello, get their take on Japan's MLP!

I did not even watch it to the end. G2 was unfavorably mentioned but there are a few of us that do love G2 and still collect it. Maybe find G2s creators and hear their take on rebooting the line and why they made them the way they did.  Immediately when they said how G2 failed after 2 years, in my head I was screaming "Not in Europe!!".  Definitely missed that opportunity, they did.

It was nice to see Summer in it but there should have been more interviews with other non-celebrity collectors. They did not even touch on the annual MLP fair (even though I think they had video footage?) or books Summer did which is what she is known for! Ok, great, brony...yay but they have already had their own show. I was very underwhelmed by the episode and am no longer excited for them to continue the series because it is already losing what I have loved about it. Maybe I just need to get MustBeJewel 's My Little Obsession DVD. I have wanted it but never got around to it.

[Carrehz]

Yes, it was the Blackpool Illuminations that had the MLP light-ups.

I imagine something like that'd probably be harder to find out stuff about (and might wander a bit too far off-topic? I've never seen the show, idk how much not-toy-but-related-to-a-toyline stuff they talk about. er, if that makes sense)... I'd like to hear more about the Illuminations, too, though. I wonder what happened to them... I seem to recall one was left in a closed-down garden center, or somesuch..

[brightberry]

I disagreed with some points, but overall I did like the episode.  Honestly, I think they could make an entire series on My Little Pony alone.  It would be awesome if they did more than one episode for each toy... because there is a lot to cover.

[Zapper]

Honestly, I think they could make an entire series on My Little Pony alone.  It would be awesome if they did more than one episode for each toy... because there is a lot to cover.

There is a He-Man documentary on Netflix so why not make one for MLP. Obviously they can pay for more than one per toy. There are also various others, like a documentary about Funko (it was mostly about how Funko got started).
Personally, I would like to see a doc that is less about jokes and more about info.

[Taffeta]

It is very North America centric, which is not surprising as they’re focused a lot on the original development of the toys (and it was the same for the other episodes) but it would have been interesting to see some nirvana ponies or mention that G2 lasted way longer in Europe.

The problem here is I think that the originality between regions that trade circs created in the eighties and nineties didn't quite repeat in the later generations. If they aren't really giving G2 any time or attention, then there's not really much of an opening for anything not-US centric. Because the G4 line is so standardised, and G1 was so long ago, it's maybe hard to get around all the different production lines G1 created (and it would take up so much time to go through them all). The toy originated in the US. I think it's fine to be N. American centric in a documentary like this.

(Speaking as a UK person)


The G2 thing is also directly linked to the US failure. G2 wasn't a failure, but when it came out it was contentious and very hostile for a while. But the complete dismissal of it probably comes more from the quick withdrawal in the US than anything else.  I am also not a fan of the narrative that G1 happened, then ponies fell apart till they were rescued by G4, because I think G4 is the worst thing to happen to MLP (because of establishing the M6 so firmly and dumbing down the toyline to something repetitive), but it's sort of to be expected.

I think RaMC is universally popular in the actual fandom, but I also wonder if this is an eighties attitude to it, like Jem and people complaining that Stormer wore fishnets (sigh). That might be it. It wasn't considered 'girly' at the time. That said, though, it got the Firefly rerelease, so that seems to be an odd assumption too. The idea that it's not for girls is sexist anyway. Girls like adventure and plot and dark stuff too.


I haven't seen this yet but I am finding the comments here on it quite interesting though.

[Valerie]

Gorgeous collection photo and congratulations!

Thank you so much!